With Spring finally here, and the weather finally getting a little warmer, the option of BBQ’ing is back on the table! I love BBQ’ing for a bunch of reasons – there’s something about the taste of grilled food that is just amazing, the smell reminds me of summer, it’s an activity that pairs so nicely with a cold beer or glass of wine, but the number one reason I love BBQ season: I don’t know how to light a BBQ (and it’s going to stay that way), which means BBQ’ing = my husband cooks dinner 🙂
We don’t eat red meat too often as it’s hard on the digestive system, and is an inflammatory food, but we’re treating ourselves to some local, grass-fed steak this weekend from Klosters (a local butcher in Newmarket).
In 2012, we lived in Buenos Aires for a few months. An asado (or a traditional Argentinian BBQ) is a major part of their culture, and the steak is often served with chimmichurri – a delicious blend of fresh parsley, olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar and jalapeno. The fresh parsley is such a nice pairing with the rich steak, but the best part is the amazing health benefits of parsley:
– It recently ranked #8 on Time Magazine’s list of the 41 Superfoods (ranked by how nutrient-dense the food is per calorie)
– One of the highest foods in vitamin C: 130mg per 100g – to put this in perspective, a grapefruit has 30mg per 100g!
– Combining iron-rich foods like steak with foods high in vitamin C increases iron absorption
– It’s an amazing source of the cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene
– It’s also a source of folic acid, vitamin A and vitamin K
Next time you reach for the blue cheese or a fatty béarnaise sauce to pair with your steak, give chimichurri a try instead – it’s healthy, easy-to-make and delicious – enjoy!
Argentinian Chimichurri
Adapted from Canadian Living
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fresh parsley, washed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded & diced (optional)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Method
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and serve as a dipping sauce to BBQ’d steak.
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